Event Program

World Radiocommunication Conferences (WRC) are normally held every three to four years to review and revise the Radio Regulations, the international treaty governing the use of the radio-frequency spectrum, including services using satellite orbits. At these WRCs, countries negotiate changes to the international Radio Regulations to accommodate new spectrum-dependent technologies and promote the efficient use of spectrum. There are many important issues relating to the new satellite technologies that will be addressed at the forthcoming World Radio Conference in 2023. There are several agenda items of WRC-23 that will address satellite related spectrum and regulatory issues that will enable the next generation of GSO and NGSO satellite services, including ESIMs. In particular, WRC-23 agenda item 1.2 dealing with 6 GHz band for IMT will impact both the satellite and Terrestrial Wi-Fi services.

In India, the National Preparatory Committee (NPC) set up by the WPC wing of the Department of Telecom, has been meeting regularly to prepare national proposals, where various stakeholders participate and work to achieve national consensus. Recent APT preparatory meetings for WRC-23 (APG) and the APT wireless Group (AWG) have discussed these issues and it is important to properly understand and communicate the outcomes of these meetings to the relevant stakeholders.

This event is focussed on preparations for next year’s WRC-23 for various satellite related agenda items as well as no how to maximize the potential of satellite bands in India, in particular the Ku, Ka and 6GHz bands and the way forward on related regulatory issues. In particular, the issue of administrative allocation of satellite spectrum vs. proposal for auction of the spectrum is critical for the satellite Industry.

10:00 – 11:00 * Delegates Registration and Interactive Tea /Coffee

Master of Ceremonies: Ms. Aarush, General Manager, IAFI
11:00 – 11:05
* Introduction and Welcome by Mr. Bharat Bhatia, President IAFI
11:05 – 11:10
* Setting the Scene by Mr. T R DUA, Chairman, ITU-APT Foundation of India
11:10 – 11:20
* Keynote Address – Role of satellite communications in expanding the reach of telecom connectivity to rural and remote areas Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Former Director, IIT Madras and Member, TRAI.
11:20 – 11:30
* Guest of Honour Remarks by Mr. R K Saxena, Wireless Advisor to the Government of India
11:30 – 11:40
* Guest of Honour Remarks by Mr. A K Tiwari, Member Technology, Digital Communications Commission (DCC), Department of Telecommunications (DoT)
11:40-11:55
* Chief Guest Remarks by Mr. K Rajaraman (IAS), Secretary DoT and Chairman, Digital Communications Commission, Department of Telecommunications (DoT)
11:55-12:00
* Vote of Thanks by Prof. N K Goyal, Vice Chairman IAFI & Chairman Emeritus, TEMA

12:00 – 12:10
* Session Chairman’s Remarks - Shri. Ritu Ranjan Mittar, Sr. Deputy Director General, TEC, Digital Communications Commission, Department of Telecommunications (DoT)

12:10 to 12:20
* Introductory Presentation by Mr. Bharat Bhatia President IAFI introducing Key issues for the Session

12:20 to 12:50
Panel Discussion on shaping the future of Satellite Industry in India, with Focus on GSO Satellites- where are we now, and where do we want to go?

* Maximizing the potential of Satcom broadband in India – Evolution of GSO satellites and way forward.

* Role and benefits of GSO Satellites

* HTS and Supply-side economics and regulatory need of the hour.

* WRC-23 agenda items relating to GSO satellites and how the industry is responding?

* Protection and preservation of the 6 GHz band for Satellites communications and the utilization of this band by low power Wi-Fi sharing the 6GHz band to further improve the utilization of this band.

This high-level panel discussion will have 5-7-minute initial address, Remarks / Presentation by the panellists:

* Ms. Revathi Mannepalli, Sr. DWA, WPC, Digital Communications Commission, DoT

* Mr. Kishore Babu, YGSC, Deputy Director General, DCC, DoT

* Mr. P.V Kumara Mohan, Assistant Director OSCA, SATCOM-PO, ISRO

* Mr. Vaibhav Magow, Vice President, Hughes Network System India Pvt. Ltd.

* Mr. Nadeem Akhtar, Product Manager, Arista Networks.

12:50 to 13:10
Key Note Presentation on Protecting 6 GHz satellites from IMT and other WRC related issues -
Mr. Bashir Patel, Director, Global Policy & Regulation, ESOA
13:10 to 13:25
Q&A session with participants participation focussed on the key issues mentioned above.
13:25 to 13:30
* Concluding Remarks by Session Chairman and presentation of souvenirs to the speakers.

14:30 – 14:40
* Session Chairman’s Remarks - Mr. M K Pattanaik, Sr. DWA, Wireless Planning & Coordination Wing (WPC), Digital Communications Commission, DoT.
14:40 to 14:55 - Introductory Presentation on key Spectrum and Regulatory Issues of NGSO/LEO satellites by Mr. Peng Zhao, Vice President, OneWeb.
14:55 to 15:10 - Introductory Presentation on key Spectrum and Regulatory Issues of NGSO/LEO satellites by Dr. Laura Roberti, Director Spectrum and Market Access, TELESAT

15:10 to 15:40
Panel Discussion moderated by Mr. M K Pattanaik, Sr. DWA, WPC on Spectrum and Regulatory Issues of NGSO/LEO satellites with focus on following issues:
* Evolution of NGSO satellites and way forward for maximizing the potential of Satcom broadband in India.
* Role and benefits of NGSO Satellites - The GSO v/s NGSO satellites – Competing or Complementary?
* Role of NGSO satellites in bridging the digital divide for India – Making universal 5G possible by tapping the untapped potential of Indian Satcom as complementary to terrestrial 5G services.
* Spectrum assignments methodology for satellite services in Ku and Ka Bands Auctions vs. Administrative Assignment
This high-level panel discussion will have initial 5–7-minute initial address/remarks/ presentation by the panellists:
* R Shakya, ITS, Deputy Director General (International Relations) DoT
* Prof. V Sridhar, International Institute of Information, Bangalore.
* Mr. Mahesh Uppal, Director, Com First (India) Pvt. Ltd.
* Mr. Peng Zhao, Vice President, OneWeb.
* Dr. Laura Roberti, Director Spectrum and Market Access, TELESAT
15:40 to 16:00
Q&A session with participants participation focussed on the key issues mentioned above.
16:00 to 16:05 * Concluding Remarks by Session Chairman and presentation of souvenirs to the speakers.
16:05 to 16:10 Vote of Thanks and Concluding Remarks – Mr. Bharat Bhatia, President, IAFI.